World premiere The Remains of the Day announced for Northampton theatre

The stage adaptation of the book The Remains of the Day will gets its world premiere at Northampton's Royal & Derngate.

The book by Kazuo Ishiguro, which has been previously adapted into a 1993 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, has been produced by the theatre working with the firms Out of Joint and the Oxford Playhouse.

It will begin in Northampton starting February next year before going out on tour.

Barney Norris has adapted the book for the stage working in collaboration with the author and will be directed by Christopher Haydon and designed by Lily Arnold.

Artistic Director of Northampton’s Royal & Derngate, James Dacre today announced that Royal & Derngate’s commission of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, adapted by Barney Norris, will receive its world premiere in Northampton in February 2019 before a national Out of Joint tour.

The project was announced by the theatre's artistic director James Dacre and is a story based on memory, regret and undeclared love.

The fires of the Second World War rage through England. Through the memories of a proud butler, we discover the shocking, morally compromised truth behind the manicured gardens and grand receptions of an English stately home. Years later, faced with a life half-lived, he sets out on a journey to find the friend from his past who might finally offer him redemption.

Barney Norrris said: “This is a deeply emotional project for me, a chance to work with three companies I care for very much.

"There have been Norrises living in Northamptonshire as far back as records go, so to work in Northampton and get to share a play with my family there is glorious. To do that while also working with Oxford Playhouse, where I had my first job in the theatre and am still an associate now, and Out of Joint, the company that made me want to work in this trade and where I worked in the office for a couple of years, is a very precious opportunity.

"The Remains of the Day is one of those stories that appear every now and again which seem, almost as soon as they're written, to belong to the world. It has entered the bloodstream of our culture. To work with such extraordinary material is a great gift.”

Christopher Haydon, director, added “The Remains of the Day has been my favourite novel for many years. Barney Norris has exactly the right theatrical understanding and delicate sensibility to turn this engaging and highly political love story into a moving and dynamic piece of theatre. I am thrilled to be working with him on it.”

James Dacre, Artistic Director, said: “Our commitment to adventurous commissions continues with these latest additions to our Made in Northampton 2018 season. Barney Norris’s beautiful adaptation of Ishiguro’s masterpiece joins a body of work in which leading playwrights and diverse creative teams are skillfully honouring the work of novelists from across generations and, in doing so, re-introducing their characters in a distinctive new theatrical light.”

The Remains of the Day can be seen at Royal & Derngate from Saturday 23 February to Saturday 16 March before embarking on a national tour.